Dishes
One of my first loves in the antique world is dishes. I’m not sure how the love affair began but I do remember that when I got married at the age of 21, I did not do the traditional bridal registry for fine china. I knew even then that I could not be faithful to one particular dish for the rest of my life! Instead, I registered for 2 patterns of less expensive Fitz & Floyd. One set was burnt orange (I got married in the 70’s!) and the other had a seashell theme and I could mix and match them to come up with endless tabletop possibilities! Best of all, I could cast them aside without guilt when I moved on to another dish favorite. I can’t help it. I’m dish fickle! I love them all!
One reason I like dishes is because they are easy to acquire. On any given outing, a few dollars will buy a treasure. A plate here, a cup there and before long you have a nice assortment. Dishes are relatively inexpensive, easy to carry and they’re versatile. You can hang dishes on a wall, fill a shelf or shock of all shockers, you can actually eat off of dishes!!!
This love of the ever hospitable dish has had a huge influence on my business. I try to maintain a wide palette of dishes from which to choose ranging from butter pats to platters to pitchers. My specialties are transferware and ironstone.
Transferware is beautiful. I carry transferware in brown, red, purple and black. The process of making transferware was developed in the mid 1800’s so it has been loved for well over a century. The sentiment is no different today. People are drawn to it. Some collect the brown (like Martha Stewart), some only the red, others are just as passionate about the purple and the black. Some people even mix the colors. However you put it together, it makes a lovely statement, pleasing to any eye.
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Back in the 1800’s when everyone else was buying “fancy” dishes, the American farmer wanted something more practical and durable, thus the birth of ironstone. The simple shapes of ironstone are what make it breathtaking. And you don’t realize how many shades of white there are until you witness ironstone’s subtle range of whites and creams. It’s only adornment are embossed symbols of earthy things like wheat, grain, and fruit. Ironstone’s humility is truly its beauty.
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